Fishing reel



May 26, 1925. 1,539,646

P. CATUCCI FISHING REEL Filed Feb 26, 1924 llYVEA/TOR- Patented May 26, 1925.

UNITED STATES ILIN'Y CATUCCI, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

rrsn'nve REEL.

Application filed February 26, 1924. Serialli'oi 695,181.

To all whom it concern:

Be it known that I, PLINY GA'rnooI, a citizen of the United States, residing 1n the city of Newark, county of Essex, and Y State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fishing Reels, of which the following is a specification.

In my prior patent application Ser. No. 576,716, filed July 22, 1922, I have shown a form of fishing reel to which my present invention relates. Such reels are used as bait-casting or fly-casting reels, wherein the line is wound upon the spool of the reel and has a weight or sinker attached to its free end, the urpose being to throw or cast the weight with the bait or fly to as great a distance from the fisherman as possible, allowing the spool to run free and pay out the line as rapidly and with as little retardation as possible. If however at-the moment the bait or sinker strikes the water, some provision is not made to check the free running of the spool, its own momentum will cause it to continue to revolve, thus paying out the line after the bait and sinker have struck with the result that the line becomes kinked or snarled.

The purpose of my present invention is to provide the reel, such as set forth in the above application, with the means for checking the rotation of the spool asand when the strain on the line ceases. The device is known in the fishing art as an anti-backlash attachment, and my present invention consists in providing the reel of my sai'd application with a tension device for applying a brake to the rim of the spool flange whenever the tension on the line is relaxed, so that when paying out'of the line ceases and the tension therein is relaxed the brake may be set upon the spool flange and thus check the further rotation thereof.

Another feature resides in the form and shape of the tension device whereby the fouling of the line is avoided and the means for accomplishing this particular result resides in forming the tension trigger with an offset bend so as to provide a guide for the line as it runs out.

' In carrying out my invention, I make use of the structures and devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein,

Fi 1 is a forward or front elevation of the shing reel with my improved antiback-lash device attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is an end view of the reel showing the location of the brake adjusting nut.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the reel.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the inner face of the back plate of the reel showing the location and operation of the tension and brake mechanism. 7

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the front and back plates with the brake and tension mechanism in place but with the reel frame in section.

Fig. 6 is a detached side elevation of the brake and tension mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a plan view, partly in section, of the brake and tension mechanism showing the brake adjusting devices.

Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively fractional front and bottom views of the end of the tension. device.

Fig. 10 is a planview of the detachable pinion disc.

Similar reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the specification and drawing.

The reel is made up: of the frame or cage -1 to which the foot plate 2 is rigidly secured, the head plate 3 and the back plate 4; the usual spool 5 is mounted to rotate in bearings 6 in the head plate, and 7 in the back plate. The spool is dnven by means of the crank 8 with the intervening gear train 42, 43 as usual in such cases. The spool 5 has the usual flanges 9, 10; the back plate 4 is the'usual disc provided with shoulder 11 to fit in the end of the tubular frame 1 and is rigidly held therein by means of the two clamping plates 12, 13 fastened at diametrical points on the inner face of back plate by means of the screws 14, 15. The usual sliding diamond pointed click 16 is mounted on the inner face'of the .plate 4 with the thumb piece 18 connected thereto, so that it may be slipped back and forth toward and away from the center bearing, with the diamond point 19 of said click. in position to engage. the teeth of the clickwheel 20. Mounted" beneath the clamping plate 21 is the click spring 22 bent into circular form and having .its upturned ends bearing on either side of the diamond point is shown and descri ed merely for'the pure se of illustrating the complete structure of that part of the reel to WhlOh my 1mprovement is attached and for the purpose of showing how the improved anti-back-.

lash device is formed in order to avoid interference with such click mechanism. At a suitable point in the plate 4.is an aperture 23, in which a flanged nipple 24 is nserted from the inner face of the plate, w1th a friction disc 25 interposed between the flan and [the plate; to the outer face of the plate 4' the thumb piece 26 is mounted upon the protruding end of the nipple 24 and secured thereto so as to make comparatively close friction enga ment w1th the plate 4, yet ca able of being turned with the fingers. e nipple 241s internally threaded with a right hand thread to receive the screw threaded stem 27. Upon' the inner end of the stem 27 is rigidly mounted the brake lever 28, said brake ever extending across the inner face of the plate 4 to en go the tension device hereinafter describe The brake lever 28 has upon its upper edge the cirpular slot 29 to receive the small button shaped brake shoe 30,

which is made of fibre or hard rubber or any threaded stem' 27 as a fulcrum. If rocked upwardly as indicated in Fig. 4or Fig. 6, the stem 27 will move in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 7, at the same time, the shoe willswing outwardly upon the stem 27 as a center and away fromthe center of.

the plate 4, these combined movements carrying the shoe into engagement with'the flange 10. The downward movement of the lever 28 will carry the shoe 30 not only downwardly but also laterally away from said flange by reason of screw threaded stem 27; in other words the stem 27 is screwed into the nipple 24 by a downward movement of the lever 28. -In order to create an upward bias or tendency for the lever 28,1 provide a spring 31, connected at one end to the inner face of the plate 4 by means of the screw 32, carrying the said spring to and around stem 27 with its other end hooked over into notch 33 in the lower edge of the lever 28.

The tension device for operating brake consists of a small shaft 34mounted in a pair of hooded brackets 35, 36 which are secured respectively to the head and back rings 37, 38 of the reel frame 1. This shaft has depending1 from it a tension lever or guide 39 in t e form of a rectangular or U-shaped wire, the ends of which are inserted into and riveted to the shaft 34; the

,middle or horizontal section of this wire is forwardly ofl'set as at 40, and such section,

it will be noted, is of a length greater than that of the openings between the head and down and in doing so the U-shaped arm 41,

engaging the end'of the lever 28 will simultaneous] oscillate said brake lever and thus set or reiease the brake shoe against or away from the flange 10. The fishing line wound upon s 001 5 is carried over the shaft 34 and un er horizontal part of the tension device as 40 and leads therefrom to the end of the fishing rod. If now a strain is put upon this line it will raise the tension device 39, 40 into a horizontal position thereby rotating the shaft 34 and with it the U-shaped arm 41, thus depressing the outer end of the a lever 28 and thereby carrying the brake shoe 30 clear of the flange 10. If the tension in the line is relaxed the spring31 will tend to elevate the lever 28 and thus swing the ten sion wire back to the vertical position indicated in Fig. 4.and Fi 6.

The two features 0 importance in connection with the improvement are the screw threading of the brake stem 27 and oti'set The screw bend 40 'of the tension device, has overcome.

the most serious difliculty in anti-back-lash casting reels, viz: the fouling of the line when casting. The reason for such fouling is that the line would slip over and around the end of the wire loop and thus the tension of free runni line would be ineffective to hold the tension 00 elevated and'thereb set before the bait permit the brake to strikes. By placing this offset bend in the wire tension loop the tendency of the line to slip around and over the end of the loop is completely obviated. Theslight tension in the line and the tendenc of the tension loop 39 to swing downwar 1y by reason of the spring 31 and brake lever 28, is found vpmions it is found that in practice, many of them turn out to be defective, andtheir defects are developed only when the parts of the reel are assembled. It has been the practice hitherto to mount the pinion directly upon the s indle by forcing the same upon the reduce end of said spindle, so as to make the pinion and s indle practlcabl integral. ThlS entails muc trouble anddi ficulty in re lacing the defective plnlons. In order to o viate this difliculty 1 construct a pinion with a center bore of a size to slip over the reduced end of the spindle 43 and to rivet a small disc 44 to the hub of the pinion as clearly shown in Fi 5. This. d sc is provided with a air of iametrically d sposed apertures 45,e1ther of which may receive the end of the pin 47, which is inserted 1n the end of the spool'body as clearly shown in Fig. 5, with the holding screw 48 inserted through the other hole. In this manner the defectlve pinion may be readily discarded and an accurate pinion substituted therefor, without the necessity of forcing the pinion free from the end of the s indle, an operation which fre uently resu ts in destroying the entire spoo This construction has resulted in enormous saving in the quantity production of fishing reels of the type above described.

Anti-back-lash fishing reels are well known in the art but so' far as I am aware I am the first to provide a specific means as indicated for overcoming the fouling difiiculties of the prior art and also to provide the simple mechanism for adjusting the position of the brake shoe relative to the braking surface of the spool flange; .the latter feature also afl'ords an additional function of a quick brake release because of the screw threading of the stem 27. I therefore desire to claim these two features in combination as broadly as the scope of my invention permits.

I claim v r 1. In a fishing reel, the combination of a reel frame having head and back plates, a spool mounted to rotate between said plates, means for rotating said spool to wind a line thereon, an anti-back-lash device mounted upon the said back plate, comprising a brake lever having a screw threaded stem pivoted upon said back plate, a brake shoe upon said lever and a tension device mounted upon said frame, in engagement with the free end of said brake lever and actuated by the tension in the line for swinging said lever and brake shoe downwardly and outwardly away from the flange of said spool, and a spring upon said back plate engaging said lever to swim the same with said brake shoe into frictional engagement with said spool flange asand when the tension in said line is relaxed.

2. In a fishing reel, the combination with a reel frame and spool mounted to rotate therein to wlnd a line thereon of an antiback-lash device comprising a brake lever having a stem screw-threaded into the back plate of said frame, a brake shoe upon said lever in position to engage the flange of said spool, a tension lever mounted upon said frame and engaging the free end of said brake lever, and a spring mounted upon said back plate for normally biasing said brake lever and shoe into engagement with said spool flange, whereby the strain upon'the line will actuate said tension lever to swin said brake lever and shoe free from sai spool flan e, and the relaxing of said strain will permlt said spring to swing said brake lever with its shoe into engagement with said spool flange, and check the rotation thereo I 3. In a fishing reel, the combination with the reel frame and spool, of an anti-back-v lash device therefor comprisin a brake lever having a stem screw-threaded into the end of said frame for vertical oscillation and endwise movement, a spring normally biasing said lever to upward and inward movement to engage the flange of said spool, and a tension lever pivotally mounted upon said 1frame to engage and oscillate said brake ever.

4. In a fishing reel, an anti-back-lash de- I vice comprising a stem having a right-hand screw thread thereon, an internally threaded nipple upon said stem, means for rotatably moutning said nipple in the back plate of said fishing reel, a brake lever rigidly mounted upon said stem, a brake shoe upon said lever, a spring upon said back plate for normally biasing said lever upwardly and away from said back plate, and a tension lever operatively engaging said brake lever to move the same downwardly and toward said back plate, against the normal bias of said spring.

5. Ina fishing reel, the combination with the reel frame and its head and back plates, of an internally threaded nipple mounted to rotate in the back plate, a screw-threaded stem inserted into said nipple, a-brake lever rigidly mounted upon said stem and spanning the inner face of said back late, a brake shoe on said brake lever, and a tension lever engaging the free end of said brake lever to rotate it downwardly, a spring normally biasing said brake lever upwardly, and means for rotating said nipple to adjust said brake lever toward or away from said back plate.

6. In a fishing reel, the combination with tension lever comprising a shaft, a U-shaped wire depending t erefrom said wire having laterally offset and a forwardly ofiset bend therein for guiding a line to and from said spool.

7. A tension lever for anti-back-lash fishing reels, comprising a shaft adapted to be pivotally mounted upon a reel frame, a U- shaped tension wire having its ends lateralliy offset and riveted to said shaft and its mi I dle section forwardly offset to form a line 0. 8. A tension lever for anti-baek-lash fishlng reels, comprising a shaft ada ted to be pivotally mounted uponthe frame a tension wire bent into flattened U-shape and having its middle section laterally bent to form a line guide, and its ends' laterally offset and riveted to said shaft, and a rearwardly extending arm upon an end of said shaft. v I PLINY CATUCCI. 

